RUNNING WITH THE ELITE

File / The Citizens' Voice
Regan Rome smiles as she hits the tape to capture first place in the District 2 Class AA cross country race.

Regan Rome already has left her stamp on area cross country courses and has placed herself on the state radar among Pennsylvania's top runners.

Now the Dallas junior is out to make her presence known on the national level.

Rome leaves Thursday morning for San Diego to participate in the Footlocker Cross Country National Championships, set for Saturday. She is one of 40 females from across the country who will be competing in the girls high school championship.

"I'm thrilled and really looking forward to the whole experience," said Rome, 16, and the daughter of Amy and Craig Rome of Dallas. "This is what I've been training for and I'm going to go there and do the best I can."

Rome qualified for the prestigious race with a fourth-place finish at the Northeast Regional two weeks ago in Bronx, N.Y. She ran an 18:14 and is one of only two females from Pennsylvania to advance.

The other Pennsylvanian is Kennedy Weisner, who finished 10th at regionals (18:37). Weisner won the Class A state championship in November. Rome was third at states in the Class AAA race.

"This is the real deal and for a lot a runners, it's a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing," said Dallas cross country coach Matt Samuel, who also is making the trip to San Diego.

Rome is only the third runner to from the Wyoming Valley to advance to the national race as a high school runner. Meyers' Mary Wazeter qualified in 1980 and Steve Oliver of Dallas ran at nationals in 1990 and finished 11th.

"Only a few people from our area have been there, so that's makes it an even bigger accomplishment," Rome said. "And, I still have another year left at Dallas. It's nice to have something so big to leave behind when I graduate."

The unseasonably warm temperatures the last few days were the perfect conditions for Rome's training, as opposed to going from cold weather to the warmer San Diego climate. Samuel is familiar with the course itself and says it's located in a nice park with rolling hills, but nothing too extravagant or anything that Rome hasn't faced before.

"It's similar to a lot of courses in our area," Samuel said. "Regan is a very smart and savvy runner and she'll know how to handle the course."

The race consists of 10 runners from four regions throughout the country and the top 15 finishers are automatic All-American selections. While the possibilities of earning such prestige is exciting for Rome, she also is looking forward to taking in the honor of being involved in such a exclusive event.

"I heard that you spend a lot of time with the girls from your region, so I'm looking forward to getting to know the girls," Rome said. "There's also going to be a question and answer event with some of the top runners in the country. And I would love to have my shoe signed by Jen Rhines (a U.S. Olympic runner)."

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